What are you looking for?

ARC and ALC provided by NetGalley and the author

Author: Adriana Locke

Narrators: Rachel Vivette and Oliver Clarke

Gabrielle has just moved back to the town where she grew up to raise her boys. They have recently lost their dad and they’re having some difficulty adapting, especially her teenage boy. She was divorced from her husband but they remained best friends, so the loss has been deeply felt by them all. 

She moves into a “fixer upper, but she (to the deep concern of her cousin) has no talent whatsoever to fix things up. And that’s how her hilarious meet cute with the grumpy neighbor next door happens – with her toppling into the bushes in nothing but a teeny towel and coming face to face with a snake… and Jay.

Jay is a dream in flannel, but he’s as closed off as they come. He has every reason to avoid the single mom and her kids, but apparently staying away isn’t going to happen. He can’t keep his eyes off the mama bear and the youngest cub is determined to be friends with the new neighbor. As the days go by, walls (real and metaphorical) come tumbling down and we keep rooting for them to become a family. 

I love how Adriana writes “real people” and I always love the families in her books. This one is no exception. It’s heartbreaking to learn why Jay is so closed off and why he avoids getting attached to anyone. 

The audiobook is narrated dual style by two narrators that are new to me: Rachel Vivette and Oliver Clarke. They both do a great job portraying the characters and I will be looking for more of their work. 

This one is a standalone and, if you haven’t read Adriana yet, it’s a great introduction to her stories!

Thanks, Adriana and NetGalley for the e-book and the audiobook!

Content notes: mentions of death of a parent, “parental alienation”